Multiple Blessings
by Detective Olivia Stabler
Summary: After trying desperately for years to conceive a baby, Elliot & Olivia turn to medical science to help them fulfill their dream of having a child together. But things are never as simple as they seem.
1. 1 Only Hope

_**Author's Note: I am toying with their ages a bit to make it better fit the story. Elliot has been divorced from Kathy for a while and the older kids all live with their mother. Elliot and Olivia have been married for a few years at this point and trying desperately to conceive. Having no luck on their own, they turned to a fertility clinic for help. **_

_Multiple Blessings_

_(Chapter One: Only Hope)_

Elliot and Olivia had worked side by side for the last ten years. Best friends and partners from the beginning, they had been through the best and the worst of times together. Somehow, Olivia wondered if this wouldn't be the one thing that would tear them apart.

"How are you feeling?" Elliot asked as she crawled across the bed to rest her head against his chest.

"I'm alright. Just nervous, I guess."

"Liv, baby, stressing out over this isn't going to make it any easier."

"I know. I just kind of feel like it is our last hope. We have tried different positions and treatments, drugs and now the IVF. Nothing else worked, what if this doesn't work either?"

"We will figure something out," he replied tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear.

The truth was, she wasn't the only one feeling the pressure. Elliot had managed to impregnate Kathy five times without even trying and now when he wanted more than anything to hear those two little words, _we're pregnant_, it just didn't seem to want to happen for them. They had both been checked out by numerous doctors who were unable to detect the cause of the trouble. Olivia was ovulating perfectly eggs and Elliot's little swimmers were swimming like a Stabler champion swim team, they just didn't seem to be making that magical connection.

"That doctor said that sometimes it can take a few rounds of Invitro Fertilization to actually get pregnant," Elliot reminded her.

"And this is our second round. At twelve thousand bucks a pop! We can't keep doing this, Elliot. We just can't afford it."

"Olivia, I don't want to argue about the money."

"I'm not trying to argue. I just think it is time that we make a conscious decision. We need a plan B. We need to decide where to draw the line. Decide when to say when, when it is time to walk away. Two times? Three times? Four?"

"I don't know. How long do you think we should try?"

"This is all new to me."

"Me, too. I have never had to try before. It just sort of happened….and it wasn't always a good thing at the time. Is this still what you want?"

"Of course it is."

"Then I say we keep trying. We keep doing whatever we can to make it happen. And if that doesn't work, then we will adopt or take in foster kids. There are a million children out there who need good homes, Olivia. We will have a child."

Olivia smiled at his certainty and really hoped that he was right.

"It is just hard, you know? I can't help but feel like I am letting you down," she said softly.

"You're not letting me down, Liv. It is hard on me, too. Knowing that the only one thing my wife wants more than anything in the world is the one thing I apparently cannot give to her. Knowing that five other times, without even trying, I managed to father children. I would do anything to be able to share this with you. For the two of us to have this gift together. To have a beautiful little baby who was the best of you and the best of me all rolled into one. I know this is your dream and I will not stop until I have done everything I can do to try to make this happen for us. I love you and I want to have a child with you."

Olivia smiled through her tears.

"You could be pregnant right now. We won't know for sure until your appointment tomorrow, maybe it worked this time."

"I don't know. I don't really feel any different than I did the last time and it didn't work then."

"It would probably be too early for you to be feeling anything. Even the morning sickness probably wouldn't have really had time to kick in just yet."

"It would be pretty neat, wouldn't it? To go in there and come out knowing that all of this has paid off and we are going to be parents."

"It would be amazing. Or we could make it a little more personal."

"What do you mean?" she asked raising up to look at him.

"We could get a test and take it here. Tonight. With just you and me. No doctors and nurses, just us."

"The doctor said I should wait."

"Liv, baby, one more day isn't going to make that much difference. It isn't even a whole day, it is like…." Elliot looked at his watch, "twelve and a half hours."

Olivia laughed.

"I don't want to get too excited. I am afraid we will just be disappointed again."

"Well, we can go to bed now and wonder all night, neither one of us getting any sleep at all. Or I can make a trip to the all night pharmacy on the corner and we can get on with our lives. Good or bad, we would know tonight."

"And if it says I'm not?"

"Then we will go to that appointment tomorrow and discuss options. We can go ahead and schedule our next round of Invitro."

"And start the shots again."

"I know you hate the shots."

"I do. But if they help to get me pregnant it will have all been worth it."

"So, you want to take a walk around the block with me?"

Olivia smiled.

"I just took a shower and brushed my teeth."

"Or I can go pick it up."

"You'd do that?"

"Hey, I'm not above buying a pregnancy test. I have bought tampons a few times in my life and even one of those ovulation kits, it isn't that much different."

Olivia smiled.

"You are the most amazing husband ever!"

"Anything for you, my love," Elliot said kissing his wife as he climbed from the bed and picked up the dog leash. "Lucy," he called as their two year old border collie mix came running into the room. "You'll go for a walk with me, won't you girl?"

Olivia watched as the dog pranced around in excitement.

"How do you thing she would take to having a little brother or sister?" she asked.

"Well, we would just have to sit her down and explain to her that she will always be mommy and daddy's baby. And that as the oldest, she is responsible for helping to look after the new baby. I think with plenty of trips to the park and new toys, she would eventually realize she isn't being replaced."

Olivia laughed.

"It is hard to believe though….that the little tiny puppy we rescued from the shelter so long ago has grown up this big. I still remember the day we picked her out."

"Me, too. We were supposed to get a cat. That was the deal. Dogs were too much work and needed too much attention. Cats were more independent."

"I'm allergic to cats," Olivia replied.

"A fact that you failed to mention until we arrived at the shelter and you broke into hives and had a sneezing fit. You knew you wanted a dog all along."

Olivia smiled.

"But you _didn't _want a dog. I didn't think you would have even agreed to go look if I didn't let you think we were there for a cat."

"Sneaky! But you know that if you really wanted a dog, I would have made sure you got one."

"Yes, but it worked. We fell in love with the little black and white puppy with one blue eye and the freckles on her nose."

"It was puppy love at first sight," Elliot agreed patting the dog on the top of her head.

"And that is when we adopted our first born, Miss Lucy."

The dog raised up placing her front paws on the bed as Olivia said her name.

"And mommy and daddy will love you forever," Olivia cooed practicing her baby talk with the dog.

Elliot laughed.

"She loves it when I talk to her like that," Olivia replied.

"We'd better get going."

"Can you pick me up some ice cream while you are there?"

"You just brushed your teeth," Elliot reminded her.

Olivia laughed.

"I did. But I really want ice cream now. Give me a minute to change and I will come with you."

"You sure?"

"Yeah. It is a nice night."

They walked hand in hand down the block under the full moon. Olivia laid her head on Elliot's shoulder and held to Lucy's leash as the dog walked protectively beside her. The three of them made the perfect family, the only thing that could possibly make things better, was a baby.

At the store, Elliot waved to Mr. Davis as he tied the leash to the newspaper machine out front. Lucy was a friendly dog and most of the neighborhood was used to seeing her with Elliot out on their walks or with Olivia in the morning when they went for their runs. She would lay quietly beside the machine until Elliot returned, sometimes bringing her one of the milk bones Mr. Davis had began keeping behind the counter for the neighborhood dogs.

They walked around for a few minutes staring at the items on the shelf. Oddly enough, it took them longer to pick out a pregnancy test than it did to decide what kind of ice cream to buy. Back at home, Olivia headed to the bathroom. She returned to the living room a few minutes later and joined her husband on the couch.

"Now what?" Elliot asked.

"Now we wait."

"How long for this one?"

"Three to five minutes," she said as he handed her an orange creamsicle.

"Try not to think about it," he said picking up the remote control, "it only makes it seem longer."

"I know," she said with a sigh as she leaned back into him to watch a little television.

They tried to distract themselves, but it just wasn't working. They both wanted so badly for this test to come out positive, that they could barely think of anything else. The minutes passed like hours, until finally she sat up.

"It's time?" Elliot asked.

"Yeah," she said forcing a nervous smile.

"You wanna do this alone? Or would you like for me to come with you?"

"Of course I want you with me. We're in this together, right?"

"Absolutely."

"I want you to be there when I find out. I want us both to be the first ones to know. Elliot, there is no one else in the world I would rather share this with than you."

Elliot smiled and kissed her tenderly.

"Me either, sweetheart."

He locked his fingers in hers and followed her into the bathroom. Olivia sat down on the edge of the counter holding the test in her hand.

"Cross your fingers," she said with a smile as she turned it over to look at the results.

"What does that mean?" Elliot asked looking a little confused.

"That means no," she said softly trying so hard to hide the disappointment in her voice as she dropped the test into the trash can.

"Baby, I'm sorry. I was so certain that this was it. This was our time."

"It's okay," she said softly. "We'll just have to try again, that's all."

"So tomorrow we will set the date for the next round. And in a couple of days we will try again," Elliot said trying to cheer her up.

"Yeah," she agreed with a nod. "I'm really tired. I think I'm gonna go on to bed," she whispered and he could tell she was about to cry.

Elliot shut things down in the apartment then climbed into bed with his wife. Olivia was turned with her back to him, but he slid in beside her and wrapped his arms tightly around her. She drew a staggered breath and rolled over to bury her face in his chest. Elliot gently kissed the top of her head and just held her as she cried.

The next morning was a quiet one. Olivia got up early and took Lucy out for their morning run. After her shower she cooked breakfast for her husband and they headed off to her appointment.

She tried to pretend not to be disappointed as the nurse took some blood and left the room to perform the scheduled pregnancy test.

"Maybe I should have just told her not to waste her time," Olivia replied.

"We weren't supposed to take the home test. They don't know that we already know the results."

"I know, that is probably about sixty bucks we could have saved with the ten dollar test I took last night."

"Liv, relax. I know things aren't looking so bright right now. But I also know that I love you and we deserve this. I have enough faith in God to know that he will help us through this. It will all work out. It may not work out the way we had planned, but it will work out."

Olivia took a deep breath and nodded as her eyes filled with tears.

"I am trying to be patient. I really am, El. But it is so hard to do when we just keep getting bad news."

"You just have to keep believing. That is what faith is. Trusting and believing even when is seems all hope is lost. We can't give up. We have come too far to give up now."

"I love you," she whispered as Elliot wrapped his arms around her and kissed her lips.

"I love you too, my angel."

Olivia forced a smile as her doctor walked in with her file in his hand.

"Olivia, I have the results of your pregnancy test."

"I already know," she confessed as she stared at him. "I couldn't wait and we sort of cheated and took a home test last night."

"Well, congratulations."

"Wait, what?" she asked looking up at him in confusion.

"The test came back positive. You, my dear, are pregnant."

"Are you sure?" she asked.

"I am."

"How the hell did that happen?" Elliot asked scratching his head.

"One of the embryos implanted. Olivia is definitely pregnant."

"You are positive?" Olivia asked again.

The doctor laughed. "Lay back for a moment," he said turning on a machine beside the exam table.

Olivia laid back as he squirted some gel onto her abdomen and moved the wand around just below her navel pushing the waist of her jeans down a bit.

"There," he said as a tiny flicker appeared on the screen. "That is your baby."

Olivia stared in shock as she began to cry happy tears this time.

"It is still very early and most home tests cannot detect pregnancy as soon as a blood test can. That is why we suggest you wait for your results in your appointment," he said giving her a wink. "Would you like to hear the heart beat?" he asked as he turned up the volume on the speakers and a soft whomp whomp whomp sound filled the room.

"That's fast," Elliot said. "Is that too fast?"

"Not at all. It is a good strong heart beat. You can't really see much just yet. I want to take a few measurements and go ahead and do an exam while you are here. But there is definitely a baby inside there."

The doctor left the room so Olivia could get changed into a gown. She hugged her husband tight as he closed his arms around her and kissed her.

"I told you it would happen," he replied with a proud smile.

"I love you so much," she whispered as she nestled her cheek against his chest. "And I have never been happier than I am right now."

Elliot smiled.

"I love you too, darling."


	2. 2 Beautiful

_Multiple Blessings_

_(Chapter Two: Beautiful)_

_**A couple weeks later….**_

"You are not even going to tell me where we are going?" Olivia asked as she adjusted the blindfold with her fingertips.

"No. No peeking!"

"Okay," she laughed. "But I am getting a little claustrophobic under here. How much longer?"

"Not long."

"I assuming this this mystery date includes dinner?"

"It does."

"Good, I am starving! All I know is you called and told me to wear something nice, that we were going out tonight. You won't give me any details….should I be nervous?"

"Why would you be nervous? You trust me, don't you?"

"Of course I do. But I tend to get nervous any time you rush me off into the night without giving me details. Although I will have to say that I enjoy the excitement."

"I knew you would," Elliot whispered against her ear as he kissed her cheek.

Olivia smiled again.

"El, I am not sure how much longer I can do this, babe. I am starting to feel a little car sick."

"Or morning sick," Elliot said with a smile.

"I don't think we are quite to that point yet."

"You are almost eight weeks pregnant. Most women get morning sickness around six weeks. We are exactly at that point."

Olivia laughed.

"I never thought I would be happy about being nauseated."

Elliot slipped his hand into hers and locked their fingers together.

"We're here," he said as he turned shut off the car.

"Can I take it off."

"Just a little longer," he said kissing her hand

Elliot climbed from the car and walked around to her side. He opened the passenger's side and took his wife by the hands. Elliot walked her slowly down a path, then stopped.

"Alright," he said stepping behind her and slipping one arm around her waist.

He reached up and untied the blind fold.

"Open your eyes," he whispered softly kissing the tender spot behind her ear.

Elliot watched as her eyes fluttered open.

"Oh, Elliot."

"Do you like it?"

"It is beautiful. I love it," she said looking around at the romantic lakeside candlelit dinner he had set up for them under the stars.

He had set a small table and two chairs with candles and take out from her favorite Italian restaurant. She turned to look at him and smiled.

"I realized that we have been so busy at work lately that I have not even taken you out to celebrate the fact that you and I are finally going to have a baby."

Olivia smiled as Elliot pulled out a chair for her.

"You got champagne?" she asked.

"It is non-alcoholic sparkling cider," he corrected her as he poured her a glass.

Olivia giggled as she picked up the glass and watched the bubbles rise to the top.

"This stuff is pretty good," she said. "This is so romantic. The night sky with the moon and stars, it is absolutely beautiful. It almost makes you forget we are this close to the city."

"A beautiful night for my beautiful girl," he said raising his glass. "To our beautiful baby and our beautiful new life as parents."

"I'll drink to that," she said taking another sip from her glass.

They sat and talked about future plans and past experiences as they ate their dinner. The white Christmas lights Elliot had draped in the trees around the table lit the area with a soft glow and the sounds of summer began to fill the air. Crickets chirping and lightening bugs flickering in the air.

"I've got something for you," he said pulling a long jewelry box from his jacket pocket and placing it on the table in front of her.

Olivia slid the ribbon off the box and removed the top.

"What do you think?"

"It's so pretty," she gasped.

"Do you like it?"

"I love it!"

She replied looking into the box. Inside was a gold necklace with a diamond heart pendant.

"The sales girl showed me one with a ruby. But diamonds are a girl's best friend."

"Can you fasten it for me?" she asked holding her hair up.

"Absolutely beautiful," Elliot said kissing the tip of her nose as she smiled.

"Thank you. I really do love it! And I love you."

"I love you, too. There is more," he said laying a set of keys in her palm.

"Keys? Keys to what?"

"To the cabin," he replied kissing her hand. "Cragen is letting us borrow it for the weekend."

"Really?"

"Yes, really. I have connections. I packed you a bag and I came out here this morning and got things set up. Just you and I and our cabin in the woods."

"What about the dog?" she asked.

Elliot laughed as he stood from the table and walked over to open the cabin door.

"There's my girl," Olivia cooed as Lucy came running out to greet her.

"I told you I thought of everything," he said as he turned on the radio in the car to provide a little mood music.

"You look beautiful tonight, Mrs. Stabler. Can I have this dance?" he asked offering her his hand.

Olivia smiled as she stood and wrapped her arms tightly around his neck. She kissed him tenderly as they began to slow dance. Olivia closed her eyes and laid her head against his chest as Elliot held her tight in his arms.

"I love it here," she whispered softly.

"So do I. I wonder if Cragen would just let us move in," he joked. "A bit of a commute to work every day, but it would be nice to raise our kids out here in the country, with plenty of room to run and lots of fresh air."

"I meant here," she said placing her hand against his chest as she stared lovingly into his eyes, "in your arms."

Elliot smiled and kissed her passionately. As he did, fireworks began to explode in a rainbow of colors over the lake.

"Fireworks?" she asked with a smile. "You really do have connections, don't you?"

"It is forth of July weekend. I wish I could take credit for that, but I can't."

"You have made this the most romantic surprise ever. I don't know how I'll ever be able to thank you. Well, I do have one idea," she said with a smile as she stood from the table picking up the mostly empty take out containers and walked inside.

"Oh yeah," Elliot said to Lucy as he blew out the candles on the table and turned shut off the car.

Inside, Olivia sat the remainder of her dinner in the kitchen floor for man's best friend to enjoy. She slipped off her heels and made her way through the cabin looking around.

Elliot carried in their bags and laid them on the sofa. He smiled as he looked up to see his wife stretched out seductively across the bed. In the floor were her strappy heels and one strap of the yellow sundress she wore had slid off her left shoulder.

Olivia smiled and patted the bed beside her. Elliot scanned his eyes over her perfect body. Long legs, a full bust, pouty lips, golden skin and the most gorgeous big brown eyes he had ever seen. One look from her made his heart melt. He smiled for a moment at the thought of having a daughter with those beautiful brown eyes and her mama's smile. This was the woman God had made for him.

He made his way to her and laid down beside her on the bed. Olivia scooted up and leaned forward to kiss him tenderly.

"I love you," she whispered between kisses.

"I love you, too."

She rolled over and sat up on top of him. She raised up, flipping her long sexy hair back and smiled. She untied his tie and tossed it aside, then reaching forward began to unbutton the buttons on his shirt one by one.

"I do think the Mrs. is about to have her way with me," Elliot joked.

Olivia laughed.

"It just so happens I have a surprise of my own," she replied as she picked up his tie and used it to blindfold him.

She kissed him passionately, then trailed kisses down his neck and chest. She pulled his belt from his slacks and pulled his pants off.

"I really think I am liking the blindfold. This is so sexy."

"No peeking," she replied checking it to make sure he couldn't see.

She moved down traced the sensitive area around his navel with her tongue. Elliot laughed a bit as she tickled him. Olivia smoothed her hands up and down his chest as he began to moan softly.

She moved further down, removing his boxer shorts and discarding them as well. She lowered her mouth over his penis and gave her husband the most amazing blow job he had ever had.

Olivia raised up and smiled as Elliot gasped for breath. She laughed playfully and kissed her way back to his mouth.

"Did you like that?"

"I always do," he growled with a smile.

She kissed him and playfully bit her bottom lip. She sat up on him as Elliot flipped them on the bed so he was on top of her.

Olivia laughed again as her still blindfolded husband began to kiss and nip at the tender flesh of her neck. She groaned in ecstasy as he kissed his way down her chest. She was amazed at how even blindfolded he could navigate her body perfectly. No one knew her like he did. Elliot tickled her for a moment, then slid his hands up to slid off her panties.

Olivia flipped them again as she straddled him. She leaned forward placing a hand on each side of his head as she kissed him. As the kisses heated up, Elliot moved used his hands on her thighs to guide her onto him.

Olivia gasped and moaned as she sat up on him and began to move. She smoothed her hands over his chest and made her soft little moans as they moved together. Elliot's sounds were much deeper, more manly and better resembled grunts.

She slid her fingers between his, pushing off against his hands as they made love. After several minutes, Elliot rolled over again, laying her against the bed. He raised her legs up around his sides and began to move with harder and longer thrusts.

Olivia moaned and panted as he moved against her. He moved around to kiss and nibble at the side of her neck as she closed her eyes. Olivia could hear the booming of the fireworks over the lake as she focused on the way he felt inside of her.

Elliot reached up and pulled the tie from his eyes. He had to see her, to look into her and see everything he was making her feel at this moment. He stared into her dark eyes, begging him to give her more.

Olivia laughed as she reached up and wiped a bit of sweat from his brow.

"I love you so much," she breathed as he kissed her again.

Moments later, both satisfied and exhausted, she fell against him in the bed.

"That was incredible," she whispered.

"It always is," he agreed.

Olivia smiled and raised up to kiss her husband tenderly.

"I know it has been a while," she said softly as she laid her head against his chest to hear the beating of his heart.

"Things have been a little crazy lately. With all of this fertility stuff and work….I have not made enough time for you. I know that. And I want you to know that I'm changing it. Family comes first. That is you and this baby and the kids…."

"And Lucy," she said with a smile.

"And of course Lucy. My point is that I love you more than life and some of the things that we have been through together in the past couple of years, the infertility issues and stuff, it would be enough to split up a lot of couples."

"Not us."

"Never. I know things got pretty tough there for a while. We even argued some and we never fight. I just want you to know that never once, not even for a second, did splitting up cross my mind."

"Mine either," she confessed. "I think that we both blamed ourselves, we put a lot of pressure on ourselves. But I think finally becoming pregnant will take some of the pressure off. Now we can just enjoy being parents together. I know that in a way a lot of the stress has just begun. But I know that together we can make it through anything. Because we truly love each other."

Elliot smiled and kissed the top of her head.

"When was the last time we made love?"

Olivia sat up and smiled at him.

"What are you getting at?"

"I'm just saying, even when we were together, it wasn't really us. Not for the last several months anyway. Not until tonight."

"You're right."

"When was the last time we made love when we weren't on some schedule or fertility shot? When was the last time we made love just to make love and not for the sole purpose of getting pregnant? I think we both wanted this so badly that we didn't realize how routine it had all become. It became more like a business transaction than a romantic encounter between a husband and wife. I'm sorry. I am glad that we are having a baby, Olivia. But I am sorry for the way I let things get out of hand. I want us to make a promise that we will never let things get like that again."

She smiled and kissed him tenderly.

"I promise. I promise to make love to you without a schedule and for no reason at all."

Olivia smiled and Elliot kissed her.

"You know what I mean."

"I do. And you are exactly right. But I promise to do everything I can to keep things from getting that way again."

"So do I," Elliot replied.

Elliot reached into the bed beside them and pulled the blankets up around them.

"Good night, my love."

Olivia smiled. She knew it was a cheesy attempt to make her smile, but it always worked. And she loved that he talked to her that way.

"Good night, El."

She kissed him tenderly and closed her eyes as she drifted off to sleep in the protective arms of her husband.


	3. 3 For Better Or Worse

_Multiple Blessings_

_(Chapter Three: For Better Or Worse)_

She was sleeping peacefully when Elliot arrived. As easy as it would be to say that the worst was over now, he somehow knew that just couldn't be the truth. He drew a deep breath and walked quietly over to sit the large vase of white roses in the window sill. As he did he stared out into the grey city and watched as rain drizzled down the glass. This day, was a bad day.

"They're beautiful," she whispered from behind him and Elliot turned to look at his wife.

Olivia was crying and could barely look him in the eye.

"I'm so sorry, El."

"Liv, baby, none of this was your fault. These things just happen sometimes," he said softly rubbing circles in the small of her back in an attempt to comfort her. "We'll wait a few weeks and try again."

Olivia shook her head in disagreement.

"I don't think I can go through this again," she sobbed.

He slid into the bed behind her and wrapped his arms tight around her. Elliot whispered loving words to her and gently kissed the top of her head as Olivia buried her face in his chest and broke down once more. The truth was, he felt like doing the same. But right now he had to be strong for his wife.

They must have fallen asleep together, because a couple of hours later Elliot awoke in her hospital bed. It was dark now and the light rumble of thunder from the summer storm echoed in the distance. Elliot kissed Olivia's forehead and slipped out from under her, careful not to disturb her slumber.

He stretched for a moment and made his way across the tiny room to the bathroom. He washed his face and hands and noticed the light blinking on his phone. Elliot raised the phone to look at it, noticing he had four missed calls.

He walked back out to Olivia's hospital bed, where a nurse now stood checking her IV.

"Is everything alright? I mean, my wife is going to be okay, right?"

"She should be fine in a couple of days. The doctor gave her something for pain and to help her sleep. She might be a little depressed for a while, that is perfectly normal."

"Will she still be able to have children?" Elliot asked staring down at the dark haired beauty in the bed.

"Doc has said it should be safe to try again after a couple of weeks. Whenever she is ready. The important thing here is to make sure to give her enough time to heal emotionally."

"Yeah," Elliot agreed.

"He just wanted to keep her overnight for observation and to make sure she got some rest. She should be able to go home tomorrow afternoon."

"Is there somewhere I can get a cup of coffee?"

"There is a vending machine down the hall. But the canteen on the first floor has much better coffee," she woman said looking at her watch. "They should be serving breakfast about now."

"Breakfast? What time is it?" Elliot asked.

"Ten 'til five."

"I slept a lot longer than I thought," he replied looking back at Olivia still sleeping peacefully.

"You know, we tried to get her to go to sleep for a couple of hours before you got here. She wouldn't. I think she just needed to know you were here with her."

"I should have been here earlier. I should have been here."

"You did what you could. I'm sure she understands that."

"If I had been there with her when this first started going on, I could have brought her in. Then maybe we would still have our baby."

"Sir, there were complications with the pregnancy," he doctor said from behind him. "There is no way she would have carried to full term. And the further she got into the pregnancy, the more risk it brought to Olivia. I'm sorry I didn't catch it earlier. This is rare, but it can be deadly. Another month and we probably would have lost them both."

Elliot sighed as he wiped a tear from his misty eyes.

"Are you sure she is going to be okay?" he asked.

"She will have some emotional scars. But I see no reason why she couldn't still have healthy pregnancy and carry to full term in the future. Like I said, this situation is very rare. It isn't likely it will happen again. I will watch her very carefully the next time and we'll take extra precautions, just in case. Right now she just needs some rest and a little time."

"Thank you doctor," Elliot said softly.

"She'll probably sleep for a few more hours. The medication I'm giving her might make her drowsy and she probably wont feel like doing much over the next few days. A miscarriage takes a strong emotional toll on a woman. Just try to be understanding."

"This was my baby, too. I think if anyone understands what she is feeling it is me."

"You're right," the doctor agreed. "I'll need to see her again in a couple of weeks. Just to make sure things are well. I am very sorry for your loss, Mr. Stabler."

Elliot nodded and watched as the doctor disappeared from the room.

"I love you, baby," he whispered kissing his wife as he turned and left the room as well.

He walked down to the cafeteria and bought himself a cup of strong coffee. Then he made his way back to the waiting area to call return the calls he had missed from Fin.

"Hey Fin, it's Elliot. I saw I missed a couple of calls from you."

"I was just calling to check on Liv. How's she doing?"

"She's gonna be okay. But she lost the baby."

"Oh man, I'm so sorry."

"It took me over three hours to get here. I should have been there with her. Instead she had to go through this alone."

"You were in Jersey trying to help find a murderer. You had no idea something like this was going to happen. And you got back here as soon as you could. She knows that….we all know that."

"She was alone. This may have been the hardest thing she'll ever have to go through and she had to face it alone. I'll never be able to make this up to her."

"Elliot, bad things happen sometimes. She may be hurt now and I know you feel awful for not being able to be there the moment she needed you, but Olivia isn't the type to hold a grudge. This is hard now, but you guys will heal together."

"I hope you're right. Listen, I think I'm gonna take a few days off. I just want to make sure she's okay."

"Don't worry about it. Munch and I can handle things around here. You just take good care of Liv. And if there is anything I can do…."

"Actually, there is. Can you run by the apartment and let Lucy out for me?"

"No problem."

"Thanks, Fin."

Elliot closed his phone and took another sip from his coffee cup. He opened his phone once more and put in his call to Cragen.

Ten minutes later Elliot returned to Olivia's room. She was still sleeping soundly, so he took a seat in a chair beside her bed and turned on the television. Elliot sat watching the news while a million things ran at random through his mind.

A few hours later, he opened his eyes once more as a nurse carried in a mixed arrangement of flowers.

"These came for her a few minutes ago," she explained handing the vase of brightly colored yellow, pink and peach colored roses mixed with beautiful white calla lilies.

Elliot leaned forward to inspect the card as he smelled the flowers. It was a get well wish from the guys at work. He smiled and sat the vase on the window ledge where Olivia would see them when she woke up.

He opened the blinds a little to see that the sunshine was beginning to peak out from between the clouds. He exhaled and climbed back into the twin sized bed beside his wife. Slipping his arms around her, Elliot softly kissed the side of her neck.

"I love you so much, sweetheart."

Olivia groaned softly as her eyes fluttered open to look at him.

"I love you, too."

"I am so sorry that I wasn't here when you needed me."

"You're here now," she replied twisting his tie in her fingers and kissing him again. "I know that you got here as soon as you could and you would have been here if you could have."

"There isn't anything I wouldn't do for you. I love you more than anything in the world."

Olivia forced a smile.

"I know that," she said exhaling deeply.

Elliot hugged her tight and kissed the side of her neck.

Just then Olivia noticed the new flower arrangement as the sunlight spilled in around it and she smiled.

"Those are so pretty."

"They are from Cragen and the guys. They wanted to come and visit, but I thought it might be better to save that until we get you back home."

"That was really sweet of them."

"They're worried about you, too. Fin called several times to check on you."

"I'll be okay, El. I just need some time."

"I explained that to him. And I took a few days off so that we can just have some down time together. The doctor said you can go home this afternoon and I plan to spend the next few days just pampering you and waiting on you hand and foot."

Olivia smiled.

"That really isn't necessary."

"I want to do it," he said kissing her tenderly.

"How are you doing?"

"You know me….I'm….fine."

"Fine? El, you lost this baby, too. It is only natural for you to feel hurt or upset, too."

"Of course I'm upset. We tried so hard to make this happen and it is something that we have both wanted for a very long time. It breaks my heart." Elliot paused for a moment feeling a knot rising in his throat. "This baby was our dream. Starting a family together, was our goal from the first day we were married. I know how badly you want this….how badly we both want this. It kills me to sit here and know what you are going through."

"What we're going through," she corrected him.

"Maybe _we_ need a little time."

"I just don't want you feeling like you have to hide your feelings from me. You can talk to me. I think that is the only way we are going to be able to make it through this, together. I know that you are always here for me, El. But I am here for you, too."

"For better or worse," Elliot said repeating the vow they gave on their wedding day.

"We can get through this together. But we have to completely honest with each other. Always."

"Always," Elliot repeated as he kissed her tenderly.

Olivia nestled her cheek against his chest as they looked studied the sunlight outside the window. Even after the darkest of days, the sun found a way to bring a new day of hope.


	4. 4 The Backup Plan

_Multiple Blessings_

_(Chapter Four: The Backup Plan)_

Elliot watched her from an angle as she sang along with the church choir. Olivia sat with her hymnal in her lap and curled the tip of the page in her fingertips as she studied the words. He couldn't help but smile as he watched her. There was no doubt in his mind that God had sent her to him, his own personal angel.

"What?" he heard as his eyes met hers and he realized he'd been caught staring.

"Beautiful," he mouthed as she smiled.

Elliot loved to see her smile. And in the weeks since she had lost the baby he could count the times he had seen her smile on one hand. Today was a good day.

"I was thinking," he whispered as he leaned into her, "maybe after church we could go for a drive. Maybe get some dinner at that little Italian place you like so much. What do you think?"

"Aren't we supposed to have dinner with the kids like we do every Sunday after church?"

"I thought maybe today we could do something together….just us."

Olivia shifted her eyes to look into his and smiled gain.

"That sounds nice," she said with a nod.

Elliot smiled and kissed the side of her head. He stretched out his arm and slipped it around her and Olivia leaned in against him.

After church they kissed the kids goodbye and climbed into the car. Elliot drove around for a while, then parked the car at a lookout point so they could talk.

"You wanna get ice cream?"

"Before dinner?" she asked.

"Sure. Or one of those pretzels you like so much."

"Okay."

They walked for a little while down a jogging path under some shade trees.

"So what is going on?" she asked popping a chunk of soft pretzel into her mouth.

"What do you mean?"

Olivia smiled.

"I mean, you act like you've got something on your mind."

"I guess I do."

"Do you wanna share it with me?" she asked with a smile as she turned to feed him a bite of pretzel.

"I love you," Elliot mumbled through a mouth full as he kissed her lips.

"I love you, too."

"I've been thinking….I mean I know that you said you didn't want to talk about the baby thing again….but I think we should."

"Talk about it?" she asked as tears pooled behind her dark eyes.

"Have one."

"El, I have explained this to you the best way I know how. I can't. I just can't go through all of this again. We can't afford to keep going it and there is no guarantee that I could get pregnant again anyway."

"There is never a guarantee, Olivia. But if we don't try again we know it wont ever happen. I don't care about the money, I care about you. I love you and I want you to be happy. This is the one thing that will make you happy."

"I am happy."

"Truly happy, Liv. A baby is the one thing keeping all of your dreams from coming true."

Elliot watched her stare at the ground and he knew she was trying not to let him see she was crying.

"Sweetheart, I know how bad you want this. I want it too. And we can't just give up on a dream because it is a little difficult to reach. If we do, it will never come true. And in my opinion giving up is much more a tragedy than trying unsuccessfully. We still have embryos at the clinic. Enough for one more round. I just don't think it makes sense to walk away without giving it our all. It doesn't have to be right now. It could be months from now or a year from now….whenever you feel that you're ready. But I think we should try this one last time."

"Then what?" she asked wiping her cheek with the back of her hand. "If it still doesn't work….then what?"

"Then we could consider other options."

"What other options, Elliot?"

"We could put out an add and look for a surrogate. We could pay someone….and the baby would still be ours. Or there is still adoption."

"No agency is ever going to approve two cops to adopt a baby."

"Maybe not. But there are other ways."

"Like black market?" she asked with a worried look. "Those people steal babies and sell them to the highest bidder!"

"I was talking about an international adoption. You go through a private attorney who arranges all of the details. The babies are from other countries, usually from orphanages filled with children of all ages who need good homes. The lawyer works strictly for the cost, so it isn't like you are buying a baby."

"How do you know all of this?"

"Do you remember Jim and Sarah Watson from church? This is how they adopted their baby girl, Leah. The people they dealt with are very trustworthy and have helped thousands of couples adopt babies. He gave me the number of the lawyer who handled their adoption. Jim said Leah was one of over a hundred babies in a Chinese orphanage up for adoption. He and Sarah flew over and were able to see some of the babies. He said that they fell in love with little Leah the moment they first saw her. A few weeks later they were flying back to finalize the adoption and bring home their baby girl."

"Is this something you really want to do?"

"I think it is something we should at least consider. You know, think about it for a while. All I am trying to say is that I think it is a little too early to just give up all hope. We may not be ready to try again just yet, but someday I think we should. I love you with all of my heart, Olivia. And I know you have so many wonderful qualities to offer to a baby. You would be an amazing mother and I think that we would have a pretty great kid together."

"Maybe you could call that lawyer and set up a meeting. Just to get more information….just to learn more about international adoption and see if it is something we would be interested in."

"Yeah?" Elliot asked as he tucked a piece of hair behind her ear and brushed his nose against hers lovingly.

"Yeah," she replied staring at him with soft eyes. "And maybe in a couple of weeks, we could try the Invitro one more time. It seems like a waste just to leave unused embryos."

Elliot smiled as he leaned his forehead against hers.

"But Elliot…."

"Yes?"

"Whether it works or not….this has to be the last time. I just can't keep doing this."

"Alright," he agreed with a kiss to seal the deal. "We will try one more time and I will set up a meeting with that lawyer….for our back up plan."

"I love you so much," she whispered as she closed her arms around his neck and kissed his lips.

Elliot tightened his arms around her waist and kissed his wife tenderly.

"I love you too, my angel. And there is nothing in this world I wouldn't do for you."

"I know," she said with a smile. "How about you take me to dinner?"

"Alright," Elliot laughed as they started back for the car, "I think I could arrange that."

"Good. Because I am starving," she laughed.


	5. 5 Faith

_Multiple Blessings_

_(Chapter Five: Faith)_

Olivia laid in the dark staring at the red glowing numbers of the alarm clock. She had been laying here for the last two hours unable to sleep. She groaned softly as she rolled to look over her shoulder at her now snoring husband.

"Well, at least one of us is getting some rest," she said to Lucy as she climbed from the bed and made her way down the hall.

In the kitchen she laid out a plate of celery sticks and baby carrots on the counter then began to rifle through the cabinet for the jar of peanut butter. As she climbed onto the counter and reached forward to the back of the shelf Elliot slipped both arms around her waist and pulled her into him.

Olivia screamed half startled.

"El, you scared the crap out of me," she laughed.

"You could have fallen," Elliot replied cradling her in his arms for a moment before lowering her feet to the floor. "Couldn't sleep, huh?" he asked handing her the peanut butter jar.

"I have too much on my mind."

"Are you nervous?"

"Extremely."

"It's okay, you know?"

Olivia raised her eyes to look into his.

"To be scared and nervous," he continued. "It's completely natural."

"Elliot, nothing about this situation is natural. I mean, I'm gonna go in there an a bunch of strangers are going to attempt to impregnate me with my husband's sperm. Well, hopefully. This is just nothing like I thought it would be. All of the technical terms and medical procedures, making a baby is supposed to be a magical and romantic experience between two people who are in love. Not some freak science experiment in by some guy in a lab coat."

"You know what I think?"

"What?" she asked softly.

"I think the details don't really matter as long as we get a baby out of the deal."

Elliot watched her as she tried not to look disappointed.

"You know," he said popping a bite of peanut butter covered celery into his mouth, slipping his arms around her and leaning in for a kiss, "maybe the actual event isn't romantic, but that doesn't happen until tomorrow morning. There is no reason we can't share a little romance tonight."

Olivia smiled and Elliot watched as the fear in her eyes was replaced with all of the tenderness and love they had always had between them. He picked up his wife and carried her back to their bedroom.

She was already up when Elliot woke the next morning. He stood in the doorway of the bathroom and watched as she brushed her teeth.

"Hey beautiful," he said with a wink as she looked back at him wearing his shirt.

"Hey," she mumbled smiling back at him with the tooth brush still in her mouth.

Elliot moved in behind her and closed his arms around her. He leaned into her and placed several soft kisses against her neck.

"Last night was incredible," he said and she laughed playfully.

"Yeah it was," she moaned turning to face him. "You know we weren't really supposed to do that. The doctor said that I would probably want sex more because of the hormone therapy, but they don't recommend it because it could interfere with the procedure."

"That sounds crazy. At this point I'd think we could really only benefit from it. I definitely benefited from it."

Olivia smiled a shy smile.

"I agree with you, but maybe we shouldn't tell the doctor about our little rendezvous last night."

"What ever you say," he replied kissing her tenderly.

"We'd better get going. I don't want to be late."

"This is a big day."

"It is," she said drawing a deep breath. "Hopefully when we come back home I will be in the early stages of pregnancy. Very early."

"Very, very early. Microscopic," Elliot joked in an attempt to ease her nerves.

Elliot stood by her side holding his wife's hand as the doctor and a team of nurses transferred the last six embryos. For two hours he sat in a chair watching as she slept off the light sedative they had given her before the procedure, never leaving her side for a moment.

Back at home he tucked her into bed and curled up beside her.

"How do you feel?" he asked trying not to sound worried.

"Okay. I'm achy and sore and really tired. But I'm okay," she whispered kissing him tenderly.

"I should fix you something to eat."

"I can cook dinner."

"No, no, no. You heard what that doctor said. The longer you stay off your feet the better chance we have of implantation. And the better change we have of getting a baby."

Olivia smiled.

"I think he was talking about the two hours I had to lay down after the procedure."

"Still, I'm not taking any chances. Anything you want. You name it, I'll cook it."

"I'd rather you ordered it," she replied with a smile.

"Hey, my cooking isn't that bad! I happen to make a mean macaroni and cheese right out of the box."

Olivia giggled.

"I know you do," she began to explain, "but I was thinking if we order in for dinner then we can take advantage of this down time. There are half a dozen new movies on pay-per-view. I thought maybe I could snuggle with my hubby and a carton of garlic shrimp. How does that sound?" she asked untying his neck tie.

"That sounds really good. I think that is the perfect way to spend the evening. I'll call in dinner, then I'm gonna grab a quick shower. Can I bring you anything?"

"You're all I need," she replied with a smile pulling his tie to move him in toward her for a kiss.

Half an hour later Elliot returned to the bedroom with a full spread of Chinese food. They laughed and talked as she fed him lo mein noodles with her chopsticks. Olivia laughed even harder as Elliot gave up trying to catch his food with the sticks and opted for a fork.

After dinner they curled up in bed together. Olivia nestled her cheek against his chest as he closed his arms around her and kissed the top of her head.

"I love you so much, baby."

"I love you too detective," she cooed tipping her head back to smile and kiss him again.

"Hopefully in a couple of weeks," he said as he brushed a bit of hair from her dark eyes, "we will get some good news."

"Great news," she corrected him.

"And we'll have a beautiful little baby with your beautiful eyes."

"Or yours," she replied biting her lower lip.

The next four weeks seemed to last forever as they counted down the days until their next appointment.

"Oh ow. That stings," Olivia whimpered gritting her teeth in pain as a nurse stuck a needle into her arm and began to draw a blood sample.

"I don't understand why they can't just do the test with the urine," Elliot said as she squeezed his hand with her free one.

"Sometimes in Invitro cases this early a blood test is more accurate than a urine test. Blood tests are more conclusive."

"Oh," Elliot replied as the woman applied a bandage to the area where she drew the blood.

"I'll get this to the lab right away."

"Thanks," Olivia replied as the woman walked out the door.

She watched as Elliot locked his fingers and stretched his arms over his head. He made a growling noise and paced the floor impatiently.

"How long does it take to get the results of a blood test."

"Relax. Come sit here," she said softly patting the seat beside her.

"This waiting thing is killing me."

"El, we have waited this long. A few more minutes isn't a big deal."

"This is a big deal. We want this more than anything. We deserve this."

"I know we do. But we have done everything we can do. It is in God's hands now. And all we can do is sit here and wait. And pray."

"I know how selfish it is, but I have been praying for this from the beginning."

"El, we have done all we can do. If it is meant to happen it will happen. This is where faith comes in."

"I have faith, Liv. But it is so damn hard. To have this faith and know that this is the one thing that I can't seem to give you. No matter how hard we try. Sometimes it is hard to have faith."

"Faith makes things possible," El, "not easy."

Elliot stared at her with tears in his eyes. He stepped forward and pressed his forehead to hers as he stared into her eyes.

"You are what keeps me believing that anything is possible. I don't know how I could ever live my life without you in it. I love you so much."

Olivia smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"I love you, too. And as bad as we both want this, I know that if we are never able to have a child together, if I never become a mother… I'm going to be okay. Because I will always have you."

Elliot nodded in agreement as he wiped her tears away, then he kissed her tenderly.

"And Lucy," he added fighting back tears of his own.

"And Lucy," Olivia laughed through her tears.

Just then the doctor stepped through the door with a file in his hand.

"Olivia, it's very good to see you again."

"It's good to see you, too doctor."

"Do you have our test results?" Elliot asked staring at the file.

"I do."

He paused and Olivia felt her heart sink in her chest as she dropped back into her seat.

"Well?" Elliot asked getting antsy.

"El," she sighed as she looked at him with tears in her eyes.

"You, my dear, are infact pregnant."

The doctor smiled as Elliot and Olivia stared at him in disbelief.

"I am?"

"She is?"

"She is," the doctor laughed. "It is still very early and that is why I wanted to do the blood work instead of relying on a standard urine test. But if you want to hop up here I'd like to show you something."

Olivia climbed onto the exam table and leaned back. The doctor spread a sheet across her and pushed up her gown to reveal her flat abdomen. He reached to the cart beside the table and turned on the monitor.

Olivia smiled back at Elliot and they both cried as a soft whomp, whomp, whomp, sound emerged and a little flicker appeared on the screen.

"Like I said it is still very early and near impossible to tell what we are looking at, but that is your baby's heart beat. And this little grey mass over here, that is your son or daughter."

"That's our baby," Olivia replied with a smile.

"I told you it'd be beautiful," Elliot said as he kissed his wife.


	6. 6 High Risk

_Multiple Blessings_

_(Chapter Six: High Risk)_

Olivia awoke in the dark with a strange feeling. She wasn't quite sure exactly what was wrong, but something definitely wasn't right. She sat up and looked around the bedroom. Elliot laid still beside her sound asleep and Lucy watched her carefully from across the room.

"I swear I am going insane," she mumbled to the dog as she stood and made her way to the bathroom.

Moments later Elliot was awakened by her frightened voice calling to him from the next room.

"El," she called to him and he could hear the fear in her voice.

Elliot shot from the bed, stumbling around the room and trying not to trip over Lucy as he ran to the bathroom, still not sure what was going on.

"Liv? Baby, are you okay?" he asked as he pushed open the door to see his wife with tears streaming down her face.

"There's blood," she gasped opening her palm to show him as he noticed the stain on the front of her cotton gown.

"Okay," Elliot said trying to take charge and help her to keep calm, but he really wasn't sure what to do. "Get back to the bed and off your feet. I'm gonna call the doctor."

"We should go to the hospital, Elliot. I'm losing the baby."

Elliot stared at her for a moment as their eyes met and he nodded in agreement. He helped her back to the bedroom and grabbed a change of clothes for her. He dressed himself quickly and helped Olivia to the elevator. In the car she sat staring out the window into the rainy darkness and Elliot could tell she was crying. It was killing him that he had no way to make this better.

"I had them page your doctor," he said slipping his hand into hers and holding it tight, "he's gonna meet us at the hospital."

He listened to the silence as she drew a staggered breath and exhaled once more.

At the hospital they rushed Olivia up to the O.B. floor. A doctor examined her, but didn't say much. Before long she had been admitted and was getting settled into her hospital room.

"Is someone going to tell us what is going on?" Elliot asked as a nurse started the IV in Olivia's arm.

"The doctor will be with you soon," she said softly.

"She has already been seen by a doctor," Elliot replied in a stern voice. "We want to know what the hell is going on with our kid!"

"El," Olivia said cutting him off as she patted the bed beside her. "They are doing everything they can do. And my doctor will be here soon." She took a deep breath and exhaled, trying to calm her own nerves as she stared at him. "Right now all we can do is wait."

Elliot moved to her side. He slipped his hand in hers and placed a soft kiss on it.

"I just hate not knowing," he said softly.

"I think we already know," she whispered in a soft and shaky voice.

Elliot wiped a tear from her eye and kissed her tenderly. He sat in the chair beside her bed and placed one hand over her abdomen. The room fell silent for a few moments as the rush of hospital staff moved down the hall to another patient's room.

Ten minutes later Olivia's doctor entered the room with her chart. She raised her sad eyes to stare at the man for a moment.

"Have I lost my baby?" she asked in a soft, but calm voice bracing herself for the harsh truth.

"That's what I am here to find out. We're going to do everything we can," he assured her.

Elliot watched as a nurse entered the room and Olivia was examined once more. The doctor then excused himself and returned with a machine.

"Olivia, I am going to perform a vaginal ultrasound to see if I can get a better look at this baby. Because you are still so early in your pregnancy, a standard ultrasound is not going to be sufficient. This will allow us a better look at what is going on in there."

Olivia pressed her lips together nervously and nodded her head.

"Whatever you need to do," she said softly.

"You might feel a little pressure. That is normal."

"Nothing about this pregnancy has been normal," she replied exhaling softly and trying to relax.

Elliot turned to hold her hand and stare into her eyes as the doctor raised the sheet and began the ultrasound. He watched as Olivia shifted uncomfortably at first then closed her eyes and drew a deep breath.

"There we go," the doctor said and they both turned to see the little flicker appear on the screen once more.

"Oh thank God," Olivia sighed as she began to cry once more, this time in relief instead of fear.

The nurse smiled and unmated the machine so they could hear the tiny thump of the baby's heartbeat.

"What is going on in there?" Elliot asked, still holding his wife's hand.

He watched as the doctor took some measurements, then smiled and drew two little circles with the mouse on the computer screen.

"Well, I am not exactly sure what is causing the bleeding. But this right here," he said pointing to the first circle on the screen, "is your seemingly healthy five week old fetus."

Olivia laughed and smiled as Elliot kissed her once more.

"And the other circle?" Elliot asked.

The doctor stood and smiled proudly.

"That is the second fetus."

"The second…." Elliot paused for a moment trying to put it all together in his head.

"There are two babies?" Olivia asked.

"There are," the doctor agreed.

"Twins…." Elliot said aloud in shock as the events of the evening all began to sink in. "We're having twins."

Olivia smiled and they both laughed happily as the nurse printed off the ultrasound picture showing their two babies.

"It is actually pretty common with Invitro cases. We implanted six embryos and two of them took. Wonderful results. But it is still very early and we still have a long way to go. I want to keep Olivia for the night for observation. If we can get this bleeding stopped, you can go home tomorrow. But I want you on bed rest for a couple of weeks. Up for showers and bathroom breaks only. And I don't want you walking any further than from the bed to the couch. From this point forward I am considering yours a high risk pregnancy. With a twin pregnancy there is a greater chance of premature delivery and other complications. We are going to do everything we can to ensure these babies a safe and healthy delivery."

"Thank you doctor," Olivia said smiling as she stared down at the grey mass on the picture in her hand.

"Try to get some rest."

The chair in the hospital room unfolded into a small cot like bed and Elliot made it his place for the night. He sat beside her and they talked for a little while trying to unwind so they could go back to sleep.

"Do you see them?" she asked as they stared at the ultrasound picture a bit puzzled.

"Honestly, I think it looks exactly the same as it did the last time. All grey and fuzzy."

Olivia smiled.

"I guess it takes a trained professional," she admitted as she smiled again. "I was so sure I was losing the baby," she said turning her attention to her husband.

"So did I."

"I was so scared."

"We're not out of the woods yet," Elliot reminded her. "We have to do whatever it takes to ensure a healthy pregnancy."

Olivia smiled adoringly at his concern over their unborn babies.

Elliot placed his palm against her abdomen once more in amazement.

"Two babies," he said with a smile.

"Two babies," Olivia repeated with an excited laugh.


	7. 7 Double Take

_Multiple Blessings_

_(Chapter Seven: Double Take)_

_**Six Weeks Later…..**_

Olivia stood beside the bed and struggled to button her favorite pair of jeans.

"It's useless," she groaned as she fell back against the bed surrounded by a pile of clothing from her closet.

"What's that, babe?" Elliot asked stepping from the bathroom with a toothbrush in his mouth.

"None of my pants fit!"

Elliot smiled.

"You are pregnant. You are supposed to gain weight and you are probably going to have to get some new clothes."

"I am only eleven weeks pregnant, El. And it isn't just one pair of jeans! None of my jeans fit and even the slacks I wear to work are getting too tight."

"You just wore those two days ago."

"Yea, but I didn't button them," she replied.

"You walked around all day with your pants undone?"

"No," she said with a smile. "Well, not exactly."

Elliot watched as she walked to the dresser and opened a jewelry box to pick up an elastic hair band.

"See," she said as she zipped the jeans as far as she could, then looped one end of the hair band around the button and slipped the other end through the button hole before looping it over the button as well.

Elliot watched as she pulled her shirt down over the jeans.

"You can't even tell," he said kissing her on the forehead.

"Well, thanks. But I believe you have missed my entire point in the conversation."

"And what is that?"

"I'm getting fat."

"You are pregnant. You are not fat," he replied smoothing his hands over the small but noticeable bulge of her abdomen.

"Most women don't show until they are further along. Some women don't show until they are six or seven months along. I am eleven weeks!"

"Most women aren't pregnant with twins. Baby, you have been to the doctor's office at least once a week for the last six weeks. They are closely monitoring everything with this pregnancy. I am sure that if your weight was an issue, he would have said something about it," Elliot replied kissing the tip of her nose. "You worry too much."

"Maybe I eat too much," she said staring at her reflection in the mirror.

"You barely eat at all."

Olivia frowned.

"Mainly because everything I do eat makes me sick. And the morning sickness is awful."

"Your doctor said the nausea is a good sign though. It is the increase of hormones that makes you sick. That means your pregnancy is developing the way it should be. And with twins they take up twice the space, so I am sure you will start showing earlier then women who are carrying one baby."

"Still. It just seems so fast. I've only gained about four pounds and now I can't button my jeans. At this rate I am going to be stuck in sweat pants for the next seven and a half months!"

"I think you look sexy in sweat pants."

Olivia laughed.

"Good answer," she replied.

She reached out her hands as Elliot helped pull her up from the bed. She exhaled and made her way to the closet once more.

"I thought you were ready."

"No, now I have to find a shirt to wear that doesn't make me look like a water buffalo."

Elliot smiled and shook his head as Lucy looked up at him.

"Your mother is crazy," he said to the dog as she wagged her tail.

An hour later Olivia climbed onto the exam table at her doctor's office. She fidgeted trying to get comfortable while Elliot poked his finger at a plastic model on the counter.

"Don't touch that," she whispered in a motherly way as she nudged his shoulder.

"It's cool. Look," he replied picking it up to show her. "It is the baby in the womb. And it shows how all of your organs shift to make room for the baby," he explained touching the plastic fetus with his fingertip and as he did all of the pieces fell out of the model and into the floor.

"Elliot! Put that back," she said looking a bit humiliated as the doctor walked into the room to see her husband scrambling around in the floor collecting plastic organs.

"It happens all the time," the doctor opening his hand as Elliot struggled to make the little plastic infant fit back into the model.

Elliot shrugged his shoulders and handed the piece to the man. He watched as the doctor turned the fetus the other direction and popped it right into place.

"Oh," Elliot replied looking at Olivia. "How was I supposed to know it went upside down?"

Olivia looked at the doctor and smiled as she took Elliot's hand in hers.

"How have you been feeling?" the doctor asked Olivia.

"Sick. Most of the time. I throw up almost every time I eat. And most of the time when I don't. I don't get hungry much, but if I don't eat as soon as I do then I throw up."

"That is normal at this point. It is your body adjusting to the increase of hormone production. Hopefully it will calm in a few weeks. If not, I can prescribe something to help with the nausea."

"And I am already having trouble fitting into my pants. Is that normal this early on?"

"Every woman's body adapts differently to pregnancy. You are a petite woman, so gaining just a few pounds is more noticeable than it would be on a taller or heavier built woman. But I am not seeing anything to worry about. Carrying twins, it is normal to notice the weight gain earlier on or to start showing earlier in pregnancy. You have not had any bleeding or cramping since I saw you last week?"

"No."

"I'd like to do another ultrasound, it's been about three weeks since we did the last one and I'd just like to see how they are getting along in there."

"Do you think we'll actually be able to make out the babies this time?" Elliot asked.

"It may still be a bit early. But as they get bigger it will become easier to tell what you are looking at."

Elliot sat down beside his wife as they stared at the monitor watching for some sign of their babies to appear on the monitor.

"There we go," the doctor said as he moved the wand around on Olivia's abdomen and watched the movements on the screen.

"I think I'm starting to figure this out," Elliot said as the doctor stopped over one of the babies. "Here's a head," he said touching the first baby on the screen and smiling a proud fatherly smile. "And here is the second baby, behind the first one. Then this looks like…." he squinted to stare at the grey fuzz on the screen. "Maybe I don't know what am looking at. Because to me, that looks like another head."

The doctor moved the wand around to get a closer look at the area.

"That is another head," the doctor replied.

"Our twins have three heads?" Elliot asked with a worried look.

"Three babies?" Olivia asked watching as the doctor moved the wand to the other side of her abdomen to inspect that area as well.

"I'm counting four," he replied.

"Four?" Elliot asked in disbelief.

"The original two I saw right off the bat. They are here in the center," he said marking them with the letters 'A' and 'B.' "Then if you look behind baby 'B'…. see the head right here."

"I'll be damned," Elliot said as his jaw dropped.

"And down in front is baby 'C.'"

"How is that possible?" Olivia asked.

"Well, two embryos implanted giving you twins. It appears that each of those embryos has divided. I can see along here there are the two lower fetuses share an embryonic sac and the two in the back share one. Double identical twins."

"Two sets of _identical _twins?" Olivia asked in disbelief.

"It's very rare. Although New York has the highest birth rate for quadruplets, the chances of having quadruplets are only about 1 in 571,787 pregnancies," the doctor replied looking at some statistics on the ipad he carried with him. "And the chances of that set of quadruplets containing two sets of identical twins is even more rare. But the babies all appear healthy at this point. This just became an even higher risk pregnancy," he said looking at Olivia.

"Have you ever delivered quadruplets before?" Olivia asked.

"I have not. But a colleague of mine does have experience in this area. With your permission I would like to contact her and bring her up to date on your case. When it comes time to deliver these babies it is going to take a perfectly assembled team of doctors and nurses to ensure the best care for each infant. We will need to come together, with the two of you and create a plan for the delivery of these babies. Normally we let you get as close as we can to your due date while making sure that you do not go into labor. The longer we can keep these little guys….or girls in there, the better the chances they come out with fully developed hearts and lungs. We will schedule a date and deliver the babies by cesarean. We will have medical teams on hand to care for each infant and incubators ready and waiting if they are needed. That is about as much as I know. But I will schedule a meeting with Dr. Georgia Mason. She has been through this once or twice before and is a remarkable doctor. She will be more equipped to answer your questions about delivery."

Olivia trembled, scared for a moment as the reality of the situation began to sink in.

"I want to continue to see you twice a month. You need to try to stay off your feet as much as possible. And more than likely we will eventually have to put you on full bed rest. If you have any cramping or bleeding page me and get to the hospital immediately."

Olivia nodded in agreement.

"And don't worry about your weight. According to this medical journal, a woman is expected to gain 40-100 pounds during a pregnancy with quadruplets. You need to make sure you are eating enough and eating healthy. Like I said I can write you a prescription for the nausea. You should also increase your dairy intake. Your body is going to need the extra calcium and vitamin D. Drink milk with every meal and maybe with snacks too. It is good for you and good for these babies. Exercise is good up to the point when you go on bed rest. A brisk walk is a good way to get your heart rate up and get out of the house. But no running or anything strenuous and I don't want you exercising alone. And no lifting. At all. No groceries, laundry, I don't even want you using the vacuum cleaner. From this point forward you need to have your cell phone on you at all times, just in case. Just think things through before you do them and if something feels painful or like it is putting strain on you, don't do it."

"That is what I am here for," Elliot replied rubbing her shoulders. "Whatever you need. I'll wait hand an foot on you if you need me to."

"There you go," the doctor said with a smile.

Olivia forced a nervous smile.

"Okay," she said softly with a nod.

"Other than all of that, everything looks perfect."

"Thank you doctor," Olivia replied as he left the room.

Elliot helped her to sit up and watched as she wiped the goo from her belly.

"What are you thinking?" he asked as she looked up at him.

"I am scared to death," she said with a soft and nervous voice. "And I am just praying that things go smoothly and our babies are born healthy."

"Me too baby," he said brushing back her hair to kiss her forehead.

"This is the scariest news I have ever gotten."

"It's good news."

"It is great news. It is just so scary, so much is at stake here. I mean we wanted a baby so badly. Now we have four and we could still lose them all."

"We can't think like that. We will take every precaution and be as prepared as we can for their arrival. We are going to have the best doctors and nurses. And prayer. The faith to believe that God is on our side."

Olivia took a deep breath and exhaled.

"That is always comforting to know."

That night laying in bed neither of them could sleep.

"Four babies," she said softly as she placed Elliot's hand against her abdomen.

"Four times the diapers and formula and hospital bills."

"Four cribs…..four cars."

"Four times the college tuition."

"Four times the memories and the love. El, do you really think that we can do this?"

"I know we can. Together, we can do anything."

"I hope you're right," she said as he kissed her tenderly.

"I'd better get started on the nursery."

"You don't think it is too early?" she asked nervously.

"No," Elliot replied with a smile. "I need to work on it now so that I can make it exactly the way you want and you are able to pick out all of the stuff you want to put in there. And if it is finished early that is one thing I can check off the list. Then I wont have as much to do later and I will be able to focus all my attention on helping you while you are on bed rest."

"You've really though this through, haven't you?"

"I have. And I have also been thinking that this apartment just isn't going to be big enough anymore."

"Now you want to move before I give birth too? Isn't that kind of adding stress to the situation?"

"Baby, this little two bedroom apartment is not big enough for six people and a dog."

"You're right. I just don't know if adding the stress of a move is such a good idea right now."

"Well, we could go ahead and start looking for a place. Get a few ideas at least. Find a place and wait to move in until after the babies are here. I can set up a nursery here for them to start out until we get things settled into a new place."

"Is the spare room even big enough for four cribs?" she asked.

"Some people just use two cribs for the first few months and put two babies in each one. We did that when Dickie and Elizabeth were first born. Mainly because we didn't have the money for a second crib just yet and the babies were so used to being together they seemed to sleep longer through the night when they were together."

"We will have to remember that trick. But I really want each baby to have their own bed."

"I will find a way to make it work. You may not be able to open the door all the way, but I will fit four beds in there."

Olivia giggled and smiled.

"Or you could just fit one."

"You want to put all four babies in one crib?"

"No, I meant our bed. We could move our room into the smaller bedroom and use the master bedroom for the nursery. There is more room in here. It is big enough for four cribs and a couple of dressers for storage."

"You would give up your private bathroom?"

"For my kids, yes. And I wouldn't have to give it up, it is just down the hall. Besides, it will be a while before any of these guys are big enough to need their own bathroom. This could also buy us a little more time in looking for a new house."

"Very true. We could save up a little more money."

"Not bad for our first real plan as parents," Olivia said with a smile as Elliot kissed her.

"You really need to get some rest. You heard the doctor."

"I'd rather get something else," she said with a devious smile as she pulled his shirt to bring him close enough to kiss.

"Are you sure about this?"

"I'm not talking crazy jungle sex, El. But we can be careful and be intimate at the same time. It wont be long and I wont be able to at all. I would really like to make love to my husband while I still can."

"Alright, but if it hurts or if anything feels bad or out of the ordinary we stop. Deal?"

Olivia smiled.

"Deal," she said leaning forward to kiss him again.


End file.
